Family Ties
by PinkPuffin
Summary: Lyra Malfoy, Draco's younger, sister is going into her Fifth Year at Hogwarts. Draco is struggling to complete the task Voldemort set him in HBP. Can Lyra help him before it's too late? Rated T because of sex and alcohol. Draco/Astoria, OC/Blaise.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Solace**

Lyra Malfoy poked her head around her brother's bedroom door. It was a big rectangle room with big windows that overlooked the gardens. It was early evening and dark outside already so the windows were covered by thick, green velvet curtains. There was an oriental rug covering most of the floor and all of Draco's furniture was made from dark, heavily carved wood. On the desk and on his bedside table oil lamps had been lit casting a soft yellow light over everything. Lyra's silver-blue eyes swept over the scene. Draco was lying across his bed in his black silk pyjamas reading a book. His white blond hair was still wet from the shower he'd just taken.

"Hi," Lyra said quietly, inching into the room.

"Oh, it's you," he said, looking up at her and giving her a ghostly smiling.

Lyra was fifteen, a little less than a year younger than Draco. She looked quite angelic. She had a sweet face and long, straight silvery-blonde hair. She was also very slim with soft, creamy fair skin the colour of milk. As she stepped into the room her long, flowing nightdress billowed around her legs.

Draco put his book down on the bed, open at the page he'd been reading and sat up, making space for his sister to come and sit with him.

"I brought you a drink," Lyra said, walking towards the bed and offering him one of the mugs of tea in her hands.

"Thanks," Draco said gratefully, taking the cup for her. He took a long sip. "What've you been up to?"

Lyra sat down beside him on the bed and leant her head against his shoulder. She took a sip of her tea. Draco inclined his head affectionately and looked down at her with his grey eyes, which were so much like their father's.

"Not much," Lyra admitted. "Just starting to get my Hogwarts things together, you?"

She straightened up and absently stroked her hand through Draco's fine, silver-blond hair. Lyra knew he was miserable, they all were. The house had been oddly quiet and empty all summer without their father, Lucius Malfoy, filling the place with his usual energy. Lyra thought of him, all the way out at sea, trapped in the wizard prison Azkaban and swallowed hard.

"Just reading…" Draco said, picking up the book and showing her the cover.

It was an old looking book bound in blue. Lyra recognised it from a series of books in her father's study, the title '_Strike!'_ was written in pointy golden text. It was a book of satirical cartoons taken from _The Daily Prophet_, mostly they were political but sometimes they were about the main headlines or general wizard culture. Draco was reading the 1939 edition.

"Why are you reading that?" Lyra asked, giving her brother a quizzical look.

"I wanted to see what the headlines were like when Grindlewald started taking over. You know, to compare. It's just something to do," he shrugged. "Is mum around?"

"She's gone to bed," Lyra told him. "She's been having a tough day. I think it's starting to dawn on her that she's going to be here alone when we leave for school at the weekend."

"How're you doing?" Draco asked, looking concerned.

He put an arm around her and drew her into a sideways hug. Lyra appreciated it. She shrugged and cupped her hands around her mug of tea. She didn't think she'd be able explain how she was feeling without crying, so she didn't. She just thought of how much she was looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. At least there she'd be busy and she'd have her best friend, Astoria Greengrass, to cheer her up.

"I'm doing better," Lyra said at last, with a little nod of her head.

"It's going to be alright," Draco assured her and put a comforting hand on her thigh. "I promise. I'm going to make it right."

Lyra looked down at his long, pale fingers on her leg, contrasting sharply with her navy blue gown. A smile played around the corners of her lips and she looked up at Draco. There was a blazing intensity in his eyes that made her trust him. She was glad to have an older brother to look out for her.

"Have you decided how you're going to do it?" Lyra asked, changing the subject.

She swung her feet up onto the bed and lay down on her side, making herself comfortable. Draco turned himself so that he could sit cross legged on his bed with his back against the ornately carved board. He didn't answer but he was smiling. He took another sip of his tea, leaving Lyra to wait for his reply.

"I'm not saying anything," he said in a superior tone, his smile broadening. "I'm keeping my options open right now. D'you think Potter will _cry_ when his precious Dumbledore kicks the cauldron?"

Draco laughed maliciously, no doubt picturing the scenario.

"Who cares?" Lyra said. "Think about what the Dark Lord will say. You'll be honoured above the rest of them, probably even more than Aunt Bella! Dad'll be so proud."

"Yeah," Draco agreed, his eyes glittering excitedly in the dim light. "Yeah, he will."

Draco got to his feet and went over to his bedside table. Lyra sat up and picked up one of the pillows on her brother's bed and hugged it to her chest for comfort.

"It's weird though, to think that Snape's right under Dumbledore's nose," Lyra said thoughtfully. "I wonder what Snape told him to get his trust?"

"Dunno," Draco said straightening up. He was holding a glass bottle of pale yellow liquid and a flannel. "Probably some sob story about how he never meant any of it," he sneered.

"Yeah," Lyra agreed. "That sounds like something Dumbledore'd lap up."

Draco had sat down on the bed again and was pulling the stopper out of the bottle. It smelt strongly like antiseptic.

"What is that stuff?" Lyra asked, pushing the pillow up against her nose to quell the awful stench.

"It's murtlap essence," Draco said, pouring some onto the flannel. "Mum gave it to me. She said it'd help the stinging go down. It smells horrible, but it works. Can you give me a hand?"

Lyra shuffled forwards and reluctantly put the pillow down. Draco, who was holding the bottle upright with one hand and the flannel in the other, couldn't pull up the sleeve of his pyjamas without letting go of something.

Carefully Lyra pulled back the black silk to reveal an ugly reddish burn surrounding a shining, newly inked Dark Mark. It looked angry and painful.

"It looks a bit better," Lyra said uncertainly. It wasn't the mangled mess she remembered it being at the beginning of the summer but she thought it looked as if it was still going to be sore for sometime.

"Yeah," Draco assured her with a tense look on his face.

Lyra had gently pressed the cloth of murtlap essence to his left forearm. Draco's mouth thinned and she saw he'd clenched his jaw. After a few seconds he became less tense and seemed to relax as the liquid started to do its job.

"Do you think Slughorn will start his Slug Club thing again?" Lyra asked Draco, trying to take his mind off his arm. "Mum said her and father were members during their time. Do you think he'll try to get us to join?"

"I expect so," Draco said. "I wonder who else he'll be interested in? I hope he doesn't invite Granger just because she's read everything ever written to try and make up for the fact she's a _Muggle_."

"It'd be interesting to be invited," Lyra said, careful not to start Draco off on a rant about his bitter academic rivalry with Hermione Granger. "Mum never really said what they did at the Slug Club."

"It's getting late," Draco said, stifling a yawn. "I think I'm going to go to bed soon."

"Oh, okay," Lyra said faintly, taking the cloth from Draco's arm.

"You don't have to go," he said quickly, his grey eyes searching her face, telling her that he hadn't meant to offend her. "I was just saying."

"I can go if you want me to," Lyra said stiffly.

"No," Draco said quietly. "I want you to stay. What were you saying about the Slug Club?"

Lyra looked at her brother's handsome face, trying to work out if he was just being polite or not. He gave her an apologetic look, which satisfied her.

"I was just saying I wonder what people do. Is it just a sort of place to get to know other smart and ambitious people?"

Lyra, who was getting cold in just her thin nightgown, pulled back the covers on Draco's bed and slipped in.

"You should definitely go, Draco. Then you wouldn't have to hang around with Crabbe and Goyle all the time."

"I like Crabbe and Goyle," Draco said mildly, getting up again. "They're obviously not great intellectual thinkers or anything, but they're alright really."

He was putting the bottle of murtlap away as he spoke before going over to his desk and turning off the oil lamp.

"I mean, they're better company than Theodore Nott, who's got no sense of humour. Blaise is _alright_, but after a while he gets annoying – always going on about how _amazing_ he is."

Lyra gave a snort of laughter. Draco was right. Blaise was a bit in love with himself, but then, most people were in love with him. In fourth year while most boys were going through their awkward teenage phase Blaise had become hot overnight. He was tall and lightly muscled with gorgeous chocolate skin and a luscious pouting mouth. He was also smart, played on the reserve Quidditch team and wasn't a complete jerk. At one point it seemed that all the Slytherin girls, except for Lyra, had a crush on him.

"I bet he gets an invite to the Slug Club," Lyra guessed, pulling the blankets up and packing them in around her. "His mum _is_ famous."

"Yeah, famous for designing robes and killing her husbands! I can't really see Slughorn being all that bothered about fashion, to be honest," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, he's going to be the Potions Master. It's not the most glamorous job in the world, but you're right, it wouldn't surprise me. Fame is still fame after all."

Draco picked up the book he'd been reading and put it on his bedside table. "I wonder if he's going to stay long?"

"The Defence Against the Dark Arts post is supposed to be jinxed. Maybe Snape'll want his old job back in a year's time and Slughorn'll have to leave," Lyra speculated as Draco climbed into bed beside her.

"You know what? If he's only going to be back for the year then at least one of us had better be part of the Slug Club."

"Sound like you've got your heart set on it," Draco commented, shooting her a wry look as he arranged his pillows the way he liked them.

"If you've got a mission then I ought to have one too, even if it's not as important," said Lyra, pulling the blankets up around her ears and turning to face her brother.

She gave him a sweet smile, hoping that he wouldn't kick her out. She didn't fancy going back into her bedroom and having to warm up another bed. If she was honest Lyra didn't really like sleeping alone. She much preferred sharing a bed with her brother, who would curl himself protectively around her as they slept.

Draco smiled faintly and shook his head, more like he couldn't believe he was going to let her stay than saying she couldn't. Lyra smiled triumphantly.

She knew that Draco secretly liked having her there. Perhaps it was the small age gap or the fact that as children they hadn't really had anyone else to play with that had made them so close. Lyra didn't care what the reason was. She loved her brother and thought the world of him. She was always his first defender and he was always hers. When he'd first gone to Hogwarts she'd been worried that the bond between them would lessen, but as they got older it only seemed to get stronger.

"Don't snore, okay?" Draco teased as he reached to put out the last lamp.

"I don't snore, you snore," Lyra replied, but she was smiling.

The room went dark as the two siblings settled down to sleep. Draco inched close enough to Lyra to be able to put his arms around her. He was warm and his pyjamas were lovely and smooth against her cheek. Lyra felt safe and happy as she snuggled against Draco. She could hear his heart beating and his breaths, which eventually settled into a slow, rhythmic pattern.

"Do you think he's alright?" Lyra whispered tentatively.

Again her thoughts had drifted to their father. She imagined him in a dark, stone cell in a giant fortress with the sea pounding against the rocks. It made her worry. She knew what happened to people who spent time there. They came out reckless and a little mad, like their Aunt Bellatrix. Lyra didn't want that to happen to her father.

"Yeah," Draco said with conviction.

Lyra looked up at her brother. Her eyes had grown used to the dark so she could see the set, determined look on Draco's face. The moonlight gleamed in his grey eyes and added to his fervour. He glanced down at her and they simultaneously moved to closer to each other.

Draco's lips were smooth and warm against hers, barely there for a second and then gone. In that one second Lyra felt the sweetness of his concern for her. She hesitated a moment before closing the small space between them and kissing him again, just as chastely. When they were little they used to kiss back and forth until they were both giggling too hard to put their lips together. Draco must have remembered this too because he laughed a little jet of warm air and kissed Lyra's mouth a third time.

Lyra smiled and nuzzled against him affectionately. His arms tightened around her for a moment in a comforting squeeze.

"It'll all be okay, I promise," he whispered soothingly, before falling asleep.

**A/N**: Hey, so this is my first story in a while. Please read and review so I know if this is worth carrying on or not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Getting Noticed**

The Hogwarts Express was crowded and noisy. The scarlet steam engine snaked its way through the English countryside, past hills and fens and over rivers and lakes. Lyra Malfoy was in a compartment with Draco and his friends playing exploding snap with Pansy Parkinson.

Today half of Lyra's white-blonde hair was twisted back from her face and into a bun, which was held in place with two star shaped slides. The rest of her hair had been left loose to trail down her back. She was wearing brown leather shoes and green woollen tights and a knee length navy blue dress with little white flowers embroidered onto it.

"I'm starving," Goyle said, for about the fifth time. His stomach gave a loud rumble. "I wish the trolley would hurry up."

"You owe me a Chocolate Frog," Crabbe reminded him, looking up from his comic.

"So, Blaise," Draco said pointedly, clearly bored of hearing this squabble. "How was your summer in Sicily?"

Lyra, who'd just been laying a card down on the growing deck, glanced over at Blaise. He was as handsome as ever and was wearing expensive clothes and even from here she could smell his deep, masculine cologne.

"_Hot_," Blaise said, with smirk. This made the boys laugh sycophantically.

Lyra and Pansy exchanged unimpressed looks and continued with their game, turning the cards quicker and quicker until,

"SNAP!" they exclaimed at once, diving to put their hands over the cards.

Lyra felt Pansy's hand slam on top of hers just a second too late. Lyra scooped up the cards with a smug smile on her face and mixed them with the thin deck in her hands. She was winning.

"Oh, look, it's Weasley!" Draco exclaimed viciously, sitting up and sticking his fingers up in a rude gesture as a gangling, red haired boy goggled into their compartment as he went by.

"Still alive, Weasley? I hear your family are so poor you have to grow your own vegetables just to eat," Draco called. "With all this bad weather I was hoping you'd have starved to death!"

Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy burst out laughing while Blaise and Lyra merely smiled patiently. Ron Weasley turned scarlet and angrily returned the hand gesture. The bushy haired girl beside him grabbed the front of his robes and dragged him off.

"What a loser," Blaise said disdainfully. "I think Dumbledore only made him a prefect out of pity."

That reminded Lyra, if the Gryffindor prefects were walking around then the meeting must be over. That meant that Astoria Greengrass, Lyra's best friend, was now free for the rest of the afternoon. Astoria was one of the Fifth Year Slytherin prefects, along with Boris Bole.

"They're such an embarrassment," Pansy was saying, with a big fake shudder. "If I had a choice between being a Weasley or being a Half-Blood, I think I'd pick the Half-Blood – and that's saying something!"

Lyra opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted because someone was knocking on the compartment door. She turned to see an awkward looking Second Year opening the door with a trembling hand. He was tightly clutching a scroll in the other.

"I've – I've got this for Blaise Zabini," said the runty looking Slytherin boy, holding out the scroll.

Blaise, who was sat by the door, snatched the parchment from the boy's hand. He opened it at once and read it with a dubious expression on his face. The Second Year hovered uncertainly where he was.

"What is it?" Lyra asked curiously.

"Professor Slughorn wants to see me," Blaise told them all importantly, rolling up the parchment. "He's invited me to have lunch with him in compartment C."

"Got any more of those invitations?" Lyra asked the messenger boy in a would-be casual voice.

The boy shook his head. "He only – only – gave me that one."

Lyra turned to Draco, who was sat next to her, and gave him an incredulous look. This couldn't be happening, she thought, angrily. There had to have been some kind of mistake. If Slughorn was on the train and he hadn't invited either her or Draco then he couldn't have known they were on the train.

"Did he now?" Lyra said, getting to her feet. "Well, we'll just have to see about that."

"Where are you going?" Draco asked, looking up at her in surprise.

"Oh, just for a walk," Lyra said airily. "I think I'll wander by compartment C and make myself known while I go and look for Astoria."

Draco gave her a keen smile. "Good idea."

"I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts," Lyra said, not expecting to come back once she'd teamed up with Astoria. "Thanks for letting me sit with you."

Lyra passed Pansy the half deck of cards she was holding in her hands.

"I'll walk with you," Blaise said quickly, getting to his feet and following Lyra out into the corridor.

Lyra and Blaise walked in silence for a moment, with her leading the way. She was aware that Blaise was very close behind her. She didn't really know what to say to him. He was one of those older boys that she only ever really saw from a distance or spoke to when they spoke first.

"Did you have a good holiday?" Blaise eventually asked. "As good as it could be, under the circumstances, I mean."

"It was pretty rotten," Lyra admitted. "But it's over with now."

There wasn't really anything else to add to that. It summed up the entire summer well enough.

Lyra pulled open the door that led to the next carriage along. The train was rattling through marsh land and the sun had come out. It was pale and weak, as if it was later in the year but Lyra was glad of the wave of warmth on her face.

"Lyra!" a voice called excitedly.

A tall, thin girl with a blonde bob was beaming at her from the other end of the landing. Astoria Greengrass was already in her Hogwarts robes with her shiny silver prefect badge pinned to the front of her robes. Lyra tried not to feel too jealous that she hadn't been the one to get the badge and gave a wave of greeting.

"Astoria!" she grinned, and walked briskly to give her best friend a big hug.

"It's so good to see you!" Astoria said warmly, "Oh my gosh, the prefects meeting was so boring! I'm going to need you and a whole bottle of pumpkin juice to wake me up again."

"See you later, little Malfoy," Blaise said from behind Lyra.

She turned around and saw that he'd opened one of the doors that led off the main corridor and was poised to go in.

"See you," Lyra said and watched him go to his special lunch with Slughorn.

"I wonder who else is in there," Lyra thought out loud and walked slyly towards the door. She took Astoria by the hand and led her down the corridor.

"What's going on? Who's in where?" she asked sounding faintly confused.

"Slughorn's back," Lyra explained quickly. "He's starting up his little club again and he's already testing out students. Blaise got an invitation but no one else we know did, so I want to know who Slughorn is trying to collect."

Before Lyra and Astoria drew level with the door Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom appeared. Harry opened the door and the two boys joined Blaise inside.

"Longbottom?" Astoria said doubtfully. "Why would anyone be interested in Longbottom? Snape's always going on about how useless he is."

Lyra didn't say anything, but she took it personally that Longbottom had been invited and she hadn't. Curiously she peered through the glass and scanned the table that was set for lunch with her bright, pale eyes.

"McLaggen – well, that's not unexpected. Belby? _Weasley!_ What's _she_ doing in there?" Lyra hissed.

"_What?"_ Astoria gasped, and stood on her tip-toes so she could see over Lyra. "There's nothing special about _Ginny_! Except maybe how much of slut she is!"

"And the fact she almost got eaten by a Basilisk," Lyra added.

Astoria let out a snort of laughter.

Perhaps that did make Ginny worthy of Slughorn's attention, Lyra thought. Basilisk venom and skin was very expensive. Maybe Slughorn thought she'd tell him the way to get down to the Chamber of Secrets so he could go and inspect the remains if he let her join his fan club.

"Argh, busted!" Astoria whispered and leapt away from the door.

A second later Lyra realised that everyone in Slughorn's compartment was looking at her. She felt herself getting hot under the collar. Slughorn himself, a fat, walrus-like wizard was beckoning for her to come in, though there was a bewildered expression on his face.

Lyra, whose mouth had gone dry, tried not to look embarrassed as she opened the door.

"Can I help you, Miss….?"

"Malfoy, Sir," Lyra said confidently with a sweet smile.

She watched as Slughorn's smile faltered. He looked almost afraid of her but then hid it with a look of surprise.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," she said smoothly, "I was just so surprised to see you on the train. My grandfather always spoke very highly of you, Professor. Are you teaching again this year? Ooh, it would be so brilliant if you are!"

Blaise gave Lyra an amused look as she thought on her feet, hoping to suck up to Slughorn enough to let her stay.

"That's nice of you to say so, Miss Malfoy. Yes, I will be taking up my old post again this year," Slughorn told her.

"How wonderful," Lyra said with a big, forced smile.

There was a long pause as Lyra waited for Slughorn to ask her to sit down and replace one of the other lunch guests. He continued to look expectantly at her and she equally so at him.

"Well, Miss Malfoy, it's been a pleasure meeting you," Slughorn said politely, but finally.

"Yes," Lyra said hazily, her eyes widening as she realised that this was her cue to leave. "A pleasure meeting you, Sir," she added, backing out of the room, a sneering disbelieving smile on her face.

Once out of the compartment she felt a bewildering realisation that she'd just been slighted by Slughorn. Lyra marched away from the compartment, hands balled into fists. Nothing of the sort had ever happened to her before. She was a Malfoy. She was the very height of Wizarding status and breeding. She was used to everyone making accommodations and allowances for her.

"Merlin, he's lost his touch!" Lyra burst out the moment she'd stepped into the next carriage.

"Maybe he didn't know you and Draco were on the train," Astoria said, though she was trying to suppress her laughter with a hand clamped over her mouth. "I thought you were going to be in so much trouble for spying on them. The look on your face when you got caught!"

"Be quiet!" Lyra said, shooting Astoria a sideways look. "You screamed and jumped out of the way as if there was a Basilisk lurking around the corner!"

The two best friends looked at one another and their smiles began to widen. Astoria began to giggle and soon Lyra was grinning and feeling less foolish.

"Well, at least he knows I'm here," Lyra said optimistically. "Besides, I'd much rather have Chocolate Frogs for lunch and listen to you tell me all about your holiday," she said primly.

"Aww," Astoria uttered. "That's why you're my best friend."

Astoria linked arms with Lyra and the two blonde Slytherins walked down the train looking for some First Years to eject from a compartment.


End file.
